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Philanthropies and foundations increasingly are supplementing traditional funding sources for schools. Research studies released during the recent American Educational Research Association finds that the funds now are going primarily to so-called "challengers," such as charter schools, and those providing the funds are taking an increasingly active role in determining how the money is spent.

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As states and colleges race to award scholarship money on merit, grades and other measures, studies are showing that most of the assistance is flowing away from students from low-income families to their wealthier peers. This article highlights the plight of one student who is now working to develop a microloan program to help the working poor afford college.

Practicing and performing with a musical instrument may improve students' cognitive development, according to studies released at the recent Society for Neuroscience meeting. As an education intervention, "[i]t's really hard to come up with an experience similar to that," noted Gottfried Schlaug, director of the Music and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Harvard Medical School. Scientists cited studies showing increased development in brain areas associated with language and executive function in children, as well as in patients who have had strokes or disease.

Children with cochlear implants tend to experience problems during their early education but go on to achieve levels of education and employment comparable to that of individuals with no hearing disabilities, a study found. In a separate study, researchers found that earlier implantation of the device is linked to better results in speech and language comprehension.

A U.S. study found that the survival rates of people who suffered cardiac arrest in high schools equipped with automated external defibrillators are higher compared with the typical rates of those who suffered cardiac arrest outside a hospital. In another study, Danish researchers found that placing AEDs in public locations based on the American Heart Association's guidelines could address 67% of cardiac arrests in public over a decade. Researchers suggest that AED placement should be supplemented with the immediate administration of CPR and emergency response plans in schools.

Students behave differently in smaller classes, staying on task with greater frequency and interacting more with their teachers, according to an analysis of research gathered from various countries, including the U.S. "Small classes are more engaging places for students because they're able to have a more personal connection with teachers, simply by virtue of the fact that there are fewer kids in the classroom competing for that teacher's attention," says Adam Gamoran of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who examined the data.